Ring guard



Nov. 1, 1932. ow 1,885,930

RING GUARD Filed Oct. 25. 1930 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE JAMES LOWY, 01 NEW YORK, N. Y.

RING GUARD Application med. October 23, 1980. Serial No. 490,604.

This invention relates'to ring guards, particularly to protective coverings for settings of rings including precious and semi-precious stones.

It is an object 0 a protective covering f my invention to provide for rings and the settings thereof, and the precious and semiprecious stones settings to avoid t dent to exposure in water,

which may be carried by the he danger and harm incias when involved in the process of washing, bathing or the like,

to thereby protect the ring and the setting from dislodgement of the jewels and to also protect the ring itself. It is contemplated by my invention to p rovide a protective covering for rings which is carried by the ring itself, without in any way encumberlng the wearer of the ring or causing any discomfort,

or without materially detracting from the general appearance of the ring when worn with the protective covering.

Other objects of my invention reside in providing a protective coating for jeweled settings, jewelry worn upon by encase the ewe of jewelry is worn such operations as washing,

part of the body, bathing, etc., may j y dislodging the precious and at the same time,

such as rings and other articles of the finger or arm, to therels so that when the article he carried on without into the article of jewelry or danger of ewels carried thereby without causing any discomfort to the wearer of the jewelry.

It is contemplated by my invention to provide a protective covering for articles of jewelry, such as rings, including settings for precious jewels, which may be carried solely by the articles of jewelry themselves, whereby the covering may be affixed in position in a most attractive and assembly affixed in compact manner and the position, as upon the finger of the wearer, with maximum facility and ease, and when so affixed, provides an attractive and compact assembly.

Still further objects of my invention reside in the provision of a moldable and deformable covering ririgs, which comp cover and protect prevent accidental for articles of jewelry, such as actly and neatly serves to the articles of jewelry, to displacement of the jewels upon the finger or other ed precious jewels,

Figure 1 is a perspective view of my device as applied to rings, the drawing being broken '59 away 1n part to disclose the details of assembly;

Figure 2 is a plan view of the ring with my device applied in position;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary side elevation '55 of the same;

Figure f is a the same;

Figure 5 is a fragmentary end elevation showing my invention as applied to a jeweled wedding ring;

Figure 6 is a thereof;

Figures 7 and 8 are fragmentary side and end elevations, showing my device as applied to another form of ring;

Figure 9 is a plan view of a blank of plastic material for forming my device.

Making reference to the drawing, my invention contemplates the provision for a ring 10, having a setting 11, in which are mountsuch as diamonds 12 of a protective covering 13, made of moldable or plastic material. It is contemplated by my invention to use as the protective covering such material as is readily molded or formed and I may include material such as rubber, gelatinized pyroxylin compositions and thermo-plastic materials, such as phenolic condensation resins.

In the construction of my device, it is contemplated by me to variously cover the setting 11 and jewels 12, carried thereby, as well as the shank 14, with a quantity of material just sufficient to snugly cover these parts, without in any way interfering with the form and size of the ring itself and its encircling portion which embraces the finger. Thus, in the embodiment illustrated in Figures 2, 3 and 4: it will be observed'that the protective fragmentary end elevation of fragmentary side elevation It will be observed that such blanks as il-,

cow-ring contemplated by me has a setting embracing portion l5 and a shank embracing portion 16, forn'ied and molded substantially the general contour of the setting and shank, respectively, which reaches substantially to, but not beyond the inner diameter 18 of the ring.

In the construction of this material, a blank 19 is provided of some thermo-plastic material, such as rubber and the other materials specified, which is formed with shank portions 20 to either side of the setting portion 21, and this material, before it is finally cured, is molded about a predetermined form of setting and then finally cured, as by vulcaniz- Ling, in the case of rubber, to the predetermined contour, cementing the shank portions 2020 to complete the circlet, in the case of a ring.

lustrated may serve to cover general classes of ring settings so that though the shank of the ring is substantially the same, very few modifications need be made to the setting portion of the blank to accommodate the guard, as prepared by me, to a variety of settings.

The blank as illustrated in Figure 9'will show its accommodation to a solitare, as in Figures 7 and 8, and various modifications of the same may be made and still come within the general contours which may be protected by the covering material so provided. This is due to the resiliency which may be imparted to the material of which the covering is made and the fact that the covering is carried by the ring itself, over which it may be stretched, and thereby serve to conform itself to the irregularities in contour and slight differences in size. This property of resiliency will also serve to take care of such variations in the settings themselves of different characters of rings. This will thereby permit the provision of predetermined molded forms of blanks of minimum number, although it will be observed that so-called custom made forms may be provided for each particular ring. Thus, in the case of the illustration shown in Figures 5 and 6, a simple circlet, such as a wedding ring, takes on a uniform contour about the entire circumference of the ring.

In neral, it will be observed that by reason 0 the snug engagement which the protective covering makes about the article of jewelry, such as the rings illustrated, assembly of the covering may be made when the article is not necessarily upon the finger of the wearer, so that proper ailixation may be made, to give to the assembly thus provided a neat and compact fit.

By reason of the resiliency of the material, particularly when rubber is used, a certain amount of transparency may be embodied in the rubber to enhance the general appearance, as will be readily understood. Additionally, also, it will be observed that though translucent or transparent materials are pre ferred, opaque materials may be used without departing from the spirit of the invention.

In general, it will be observed that I have provided a covering device for articles of ewelry, such as rings, which may be conveniently and readily affixed in position and be worn in association with rings, without any discomfort to the wearer, or without materially detracting from its appearance by reason of adding undue bulk to 1t, and at the same time serving as a means of protecting the ring itself or the precious jewels carried thereby from abrasion, dislodgement, loss or accumulation of dirt, during such operations as bathing, washing and household operations.

aving thus described my invention and illustrated its use, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. For use with articles of jewelry, such as rings, a readily removable and reusable sheathing thereover including a thermo-plastic, waterproof coating material, molded or shaped into a contour corresponding to predetermined forms of the settings of rings, said moldedmaterial en aging the ring in such a way as to permit the rin and sheathing to be removed as an assem 1y.

2. For use with articles of jewelry, such as rings or the like, including settin and jewels carried thereby, of a protective coating therefor comprising resilient, water roof material, said covering having its bod molded into a cont-our conforming substantial] to the setting and to the shank portion 0 the ring, leaving the interior circlet of said ring substantially unmodified, the covering material being resilient and resiliently carried by the ring itself.

3. For use with an article of jewelry, such" as a ring including a setting and a shank, of a protective coverin therefor including a portion molded, su tantially confonmn when unmounted to the setting and shank,

respectively, said material being thermo-plastic, waterproof material, having inherent re-' silient characteristics, serving to be carried by the ring, leaving the circlet portion of said ring unobstructed.

4. For use with an article of jewelry, such as a ring, a substantially transparent, thermo-plastic and waterproof covering molded substantially to conform to the contour of the setting of said ring when unmounted and when mounted being substantially entirel supported upon the article of jewelry, suc as the ring and carried thereby, whereby the article of jewelry and the covering may be independently, assembled and the covering removed by reason of its inherent resilient characteristics.

5. The method of forming protective coverings for protecting articles of jewelry, such as rings or the like, which comprises providing a blank of thermo-plastic material, shaping the thermo-plastic material to conform generally to the contour and to'the setting and shank of said article and to be substantially entirely carried by said article, leaving the part touching the finger substantially free and then curing to permanently fix the contour so impressed in said thermo-plastic material.

6. For use with a ring, of a protective covering therefor comprising a resilient thermoplastic, Waterproof material molded or ormed to assume a predetermined contour corresponding to a predetermined ring, said material being readily distensible whereby it may be removed from said ring and re-used, and normally engaging the ring in such a way as to permit the material and ring to be positioned or removed as an assembly.

In witness whereof I have hereunto signed my name this 17th day of October, 1930.

JAMES LOWY. 

